'Phantom Cam' appears on Fox Sports Southwest's Rangers coverage

Fox Sports' “Phantom Cam” made an appearance this week on Fox Sports Southwest for the Angels-Rangers series during its nationwide tour of FSN networks. The slow-motion camera, which made its debut last year on Fox's World Series Coverage, can shoot up to 5,000 frames per second in HD.

Among the images captured by the camera, which was stationed in the first base dugout, was a bat breaking into numerous pieces and the mechanics of new Rangers pitcher Matt Garza.

“They have allowed us to use it on the regional networks,” Fox Sports Southwest spokesman Ramon Alvarez said. “I think that is something they are looking to expand next year.”

Alvarez said the camera might return to Arlington, Texas, for the next Angels series Sept. 26-29, which closes the regular season.

SHORT TAKES

— Fox Sports Southwest has yet to announce the analysts for its Big 12 football pregame and postgame shows, but don't look for former OSU coach Pat Jones to return. “Coach Jones has told us he is retiring from late night TV,” Alvarez said.

— The Thunder's NBA-leading local TV ratings are no surprise to Fox Sports Southwest general manager Jon Heidtke, who also oversees Fox Sports Oklahoma. “This is a perfect market for that type of success, for that type of growth when a team plays at that high level,” he said. “It took a couple of years for the people here to get used to it and rally around it, but now when you go anywhere in the state of Oklahoma, you'll see the Thunder blue. It almost rivals the crimson and cream.”

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Mel Bracht is a copy editor on the presentation desk and also covers sports media. A 1978 graduate of Indiana University, Bracht has been a print journalist for 34 years. He started his career as sports editor of the Rensselaer (Ind.) Republican...